Monthly Archives: July 2015

Forget about going to the Paris Hotel & Casino for a “French” experience. I’ve got my own little French bakery in da’ hood! Ha. In da’ hood.

I’ve always seen this bakery driving by on Sahara, and I didn’t go until my wonderful and talented friend Alissa of Alissa Esposito Photography recommended it for our lunch date. This place is so legit that quite a few of the staff and patrons speak French as you start looking around. The aroma of butter and fresh baked goods gives you the instant good feels. I ordered the pressed ham and gruyere croissant sandwich and it is stuff dreams are made of – flakey, buttery, crispy croissant toasted with ham and ooey gooey gruyere cheese.

I would highly recommend this place for an indulgent but Parisian (meaning lighter) breakfast or lunch.

Chinese noodles and dumplings. I can live off of Chinese noodles and dumplings all day every day. That’s why literally workings steps away from The Noodle Man makes me giddy. Combine those said noodles and dumplings with some spiciness, even better! I think for our generation the flavors here are delicious and just enough flavor and the price isn’t too bad. For people my parent’s age, it might be the opposite, so be careful when you bring your parents.

In high school, my dear friend Tina’s parents always invited Tina’s “riff raff” high school friends over to eat at their Chinese restaurant (now closed). Okay, we really weren’t riff raff. We were actually pretty wholesome key clubbers, where the worst thing we did was “ditch” for a couple hours on days were were excused from school for key club offsite meetings. Anyhoo! Enough tooting our wholesome horns! On these dinner nights, I always looked forward the deep fried goodness on their menu called curry puffs. I’ve unsuccessfully tried to make them in the past few years, trying to guess at the ratios and ingredients, and I would utterly fail at each attempt, disappointed at the flavors.

Fast forward 19 years later, Tina’s dad agreed to spend some time teaching us how to make them! Since our other friends weren’t around to eat the bounty, Tina and I ate like pigs and enjoyed every crispy, creamy bite.

Method:
Heat wok with high heat first and add in oils. Quickly brown the curry powder and then add water until consistency of gravy. Season with sprinkle of salt, msg/chicken bouillon and sugar. Stir in cornstarch mixture. Turn off heat and mix into separate bowl with softened cream cheese. Place cream cheese mixture in fridge to firm up before wrapping.
Fill wrapper with cream cheese mixture and seal with egg. Deep fry until golden.

Tips:
Regulate heat accordingly so that the curry does not burn.
Don’t crowd the fryer